Teaching Girls To Hang Tough

Mental Health Experts To Give Parents Suggestions

October 10, 1995|By GARY LIBOW; Courant Staff Writer

CHESHIRE — A panel of mental health experts and educators on Oct. 25 will give parents tips on enhancing their girls' self-esteem and resilience.

The free 7:30 p.m. program at Dodd Middle School, ``How to Bring Up Resilient Girls,'' is geared to parents and other care givers. The Cheshire High School guidance department says adults are extremely important in helping shape girls' perceptions about themselves and their aspirations.

Bill Ricker, a social worker in the North Haven school system who heads the Cheshire youth services committee, said Monday that helping parents uplift their girls' self-esteem is extremely important.

At very early ages, boys and girls are treated differently by parents, Ricker said, noting that when a child scrapes a knee, a boy is often told to be brave and not cry, while a girl is encouraged to shed tears.

Ricker said parents often are proud of their big, hefty boys but not their hefty girls, at the same time introducing their children to vastly different toys.

It is only with increased parental education that girls are being encouraged to aspire to virtually any profession they want, he said.

Jodee Heritage, townwide PTA council president, Monday said the workshop will help parents think twice before sending ``mixed messages'' to their children.

Agreeing that all youngsters should have the ability to aspire to high-powered careers, Heritage said the issue of how women deal with raising a family is also important. Often, she said, women are not respected when they decide to stay home and raise a family.

``How to Bring Up Resilient Girls'' is being presented by the Institute of Living in Hartford, and features a panel made up of Rosemary Baggish, Annetta K. Caplinger, Laura Ann Kramer and Margo Maine.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Cheshire Townwide PTA and the school system.

Baggish, a director at the Institute of Living responsible for community and professional education, is president of the Connecticut Association of Private Special Education Facilities. She is also a member of the Governor's Commission for National and Community Service.

Kramer is a therapist in private practice, and a program director in the institute's adolescent program. She has more than 20 years' experience working with adolescents and families, and is the mother of two adolescents.

Maine is a clinical psychologist, author, lecturer, consultant and researcher, specializing in the treatment of eating disorders and female adolescents. She has a special interest in the father-daughter relationship and its effect on female identity, self-esteem and body image.

Caplinger, a mother of four, has worked in the institute's young adult program and is program director of geriatric services.